Gifted 16-year-old Becky Lane is on cloud nine after winning a scholarship to one of Britain's most prestigious dance schools.GIFTED 16-year-old Becky Lane is on cloud nine after winning a scholarship to one of Britain's most prestigious dance schools.

Earlier this year, The Citizen told how Becky had been offered places at three major ballet schools but could not afford to go.

Her parents, Yvonne and David Lane, of Oakway, Stonehouse, were unable to find the £15,000 needed to support her on the three-year diploma course.

But now Becky's dream will come true after all because she has been given a dance and drama scholarship award to the famous Hammond Dance School in Chester.

"News of my scholarship placement came by telephone from the Hammond and I was speechless and totally surprised," said Becky.

Article in The Scotsman which focuses on the fitness asoects of ballet for children and talks to a teacher in Scotland as to how teaching has changed.

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DRAGGING your child away from the sofa, prising the remote control out of their hand, and getting them to go out and get some exercise is a losing battle for many parents.

Figures recently published by the British Heart Foundation show that one in three children between the ages of two and seven do not achieve even the minimum recommended levels of exercise, and in the past ten years the number of obese six-year-olds has doubled, while the number of obese 15-year-olds has tripled.

THREE young ballerinas from a Hexham school of dance have passed their first exams at the Royal Academy of Dance in London.

Ballerinas Helen Oakley, (14), from Slaley, Rosanne Oliver, (13), from Hexham, and Olivia Duncan, (12), from Oakwood, near Hexham, each passed the first vocational examination of the Royal Academy of Dance. Helen and Rosanne both passed with a merit, and Olivia with a pass.

The girls are students of the Phillips-Cane School of Dance run by Sarah Laurie, from Hexham.

The dance school, which was started 50 years ago by Mrs Laurie's mother Monie Patterson, meets every day after school hours in the Moot Hall at Hexham.

The planned relocation to Birmingham of one of Britain's most prestigious dance schools is under threat.

Sport England has lodged an objection to Elmhurst Ballet School's proposal to build its new £12 million headquarters in Edgbaston because the scheme would destroy playing fields.

A final decision will have to be taken by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, if Birmingham City Council planners recom-mend approval next week.

Elmhurst's proposed move from Surrey to grounds once occupied by the former Edgbaston College, off Bristol Road, has been hailed as an important element of Birmingham's bid to become European Capital of Culture.

The mother of an 11-year-old boy is suing her local education authority after school bullies all but ruined her son's chances of becoming a professional ballet dancer.

Kristopher King Kristopher King's hopes of fulfilling his life's ambition seem to be over after bullies injured his feet, leaving him facing surgery that will prevent him dancing for five years and effectively ruin his career.

In one of several beatings last year he was kicked severely at school, damaging bones in his foot, an incident the police described as a "nasty assault". Since then he has been unable to dance properly or take part in weekly classes.

Mother may sue over bullied 'Billy Elliot' boy By Colin Blackstock for The Guardian

The mother of a promising young ballet dancer who hoped to follow in the footsteps of film character Billy Elliot said yesterday she was considering suing her local education authority after her son was repeatedly bullied, threatening to put an end to his dancing career. Kristopher King, 11, was kicked and stamped on by boys at his school in Derby after they found out about his dancing aspirations.

His mother, Diane, believes his career could be ruined after doctors revealed he needed an operation on his bruised feet.

Kristopher, of Borrowfield Road, Spondon, has been dancing since the age of four and has starred in theatre productions in Derby. He had hoped to start a career as a dancer.

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